


One Clue at a Time

by lovelyavengers (fandomsandxfiles)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Mission Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:40:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28795539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomsandxfiles/pseuds/lovelyavengers
Summary: A Valentines’ Day mission in a supposedly abandoned HYDRA base leaves you separated from your boyfriend, and when he falls into a trap, it’s up to you to save him. But in order to do that, you have to play along with HYDRA’s little game.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader
Kudos: 22





	One Clue at a Time

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for the Bucky Barnes Valentine Exchange on tumblr, which I ran. If you would like to read the other fics that were posted for the event, you can find them on my fic event blog @marvelxreaderfanfictionfest. 
> 
> you can also catch up with me on tumblr @fandomsandxfiles-writes.

The day began exactly the same as all the others, and even this mission seemed tired and repetitive. "Another day, another HYDRA base," you said as you loaded up the Quinjet with your boyfriend. It was also Valentines' Day, so it was understandable that you would rather not be shipping out on a mission today. You appreciated that you got to spend time with Bucky, but you would definitely rather be snuggled up together at home than sneaking through a HYDRA base, even if this one was supposed to be abandoned. 

Bucky smiled at you as he lugged the equipment into the jet. "So, you ready or what?" 

Even though SHIELD had fallen over a year ago, you and the rest of the Avengers were still working to clean up the skeleton wrecks of HYDRA bases all over the country, both ones that were once part of the SHIELD system and ones that weren't. Basically, your job was to go through the base, make sure there were no hidden traps or people there that were still trying to hang onto HYDRA's legacy, and then once you cleared the site, another team of trusted ex-SHIELD operatives would go in and destroy the place completely. Sometimes it felt like you were being used as bait, to see if there was anyone left in the bases, but so far you hadn't run into any problems, so you weren't going to fight it. 

And this mission started out like all the others. The Quinjet landed in the woods surrounding the base, and you and Bucky headed inside. There didn't seen to be any people left in the maze of hallways and endless rooms, so you hoped that this would be a quick mission. "Let's split up," Bucky said to you as you reached the main room of the base and looked around at all the hallways that branched out. "We can cover more ground that way." 

You nodded. "I'll go left, you go right?" 

"Deal." He then leaned in and gave you a quick peck on the lips, which was a bit uncharacteristic for him, but you loved it. "Yell if you need me," he said as the two of you went your separate ways, and soon you were left alone, standing in a darkened hallway, with no way of knowing what was on the other end. You drew your gun as an extra precaution, even though you doubted there was anyone else within fifty miles. 

You explored hallway after hallway, trying to create a mental map of the maze that made up the base. Some hallways were dead ends, some had been purposely sealed up (probably to conceal information), and some led right back to the main room that you had left. It was starting to get a little ridiculous, if you were being completely honest. Yeah, this confusing setup must be great for dealing with intruders, but you couldn't imagine actually working here. Eventually though, you struck pay dirt. 

You barely noticed the small space where two walls made a corner, and when you got closer to investigate, you pushed it open to reveal an entire control room, covered wall to wall with screens and stocked with top of the line scientific equipment. Nothing seemed to be in use, but you still scanned the room for anyone who could be hiding in the shadows. Out of nowhere, one of the screens switched on. And then another, and a mechanical voice started to fill the room.

"L/N, Y/N M/N," the voice said, and you searched the ceiling for possible cameras. How did they know you were here? 

"Who are you?" you asked. It felt a bit like a horror movie, and maybe talking to the disembodied voice wasn't really the best idea, but you couldn't think of anything else to do. 

"I am unimportant, inhuman," the voice said. "Just the remnants of Zola's algorithm and a power connection." 

You were no stranger to artificial intelligence, Tony used it all the time in the compound. FRIDAY practically ran your entire day sometimes. "Then what do you want?" 

"It is not what I want, but what I have." And then another screen switched on. When you saw what it was displaying, your heart dropped. 

It was Bucky. In a room with no doors or windows, a small amount of light streaming in from an opening in the ceiling, but you watched that close as well. "Where is he?" you turned towards the sea of screens, even though there was no one to look at. 

"A trap." 

"Yeah I got that much." The evil AI apparently had a sense of humor, which you didn't appreciate right now. 

"Normally I wouldn't tell you, but it is Valentine's Day, so I'm feeling a little generous," the voice said. You were starting to think that this was actually a person waiting in the dark, so you scanned the room once more, not lowering your gun. "Your boyfriend is locked in a room that's right next to a bomb, one that's set to go off in half an hour. If you think you can find and rescue him, I'll let you both leave with your lives. But if you fail, you'll be blown up with the rest of this base when the clock runs out." 

"What do I have to do?" 

"There are three stages," the voice said. "You find the clue at each stage, and something happens. First time, I deactivate all the defense mechanisms around your boyfriend. Second, I'll pinpoint his location for you, and if you get the last piece, I'll deactivate the bomb and you can both go home. But if not, you won't make it out alive." 

Before you could say anything else, another screen turned on. The word "KEY" was displayed in bright red letters against a black screen, and on the control desk, a port lit up, obviously for the key in question. And suddenly, the wall in the back of the room moved, opening to reveal a doorway. "30 minutes until detonation," the AI reminded you. Against your better judgement, you ventured into the darkness. 

The doorway led into another room, and the back wall of that room was lined with safe deposit boxes. On the opposite wall was a plaque, with a single key on it. You ran and grabbed the key from the wall and tried to put it into the port on the control desk, but it wouldn't fit. It was for one of the safety deposit boxes then, you realized. But which one? 

You didn't have the time to think of a strategy to opening the boxes, so you just started trying to open them with the key. Some of the boxes swung open easily, revealing emptiness behind their doors. Others didn't open with the key you had, so you had to just move on. Your heart rate felt like it was speeding up every time you opened an empty safe, because it was wasting time. This wasn't a puzzle, you thought. This was a deterrence. 

Finally, your luck turned and one of the safe deposit boxes popped open to reveal another key. You raced back to the control desk and placed the key in the slot, hearing a satisfying click. The first screen went black, and another turned on. 

"Congratulations," the AI voice said. "Twenty two minutes." 

You turned to the new screen, which read "CODE" in a blinding yellow. There were seven spaces below it, the next piece of the puzzle. This time, the wall opposite the first doorway opened, and you walked into a room of more computers. Letters and number flashed on all the screens, to quickly for you to really register. But this had to be the code, there was nothing else in the room. 

Finally, you got a sequence of numbers from one of the screens that kept repeating this string over and over again: 19 - 3 - 8 - 13 - 9 - 4 - 20. You ran back to the control room and tried to type that into the computer, but it wouldn't let you type any more than the 9. You tried to go backwards, starting from 20, but you still couldn't type the complete code. 

That's when it hit you: these numbers must correspond to something. Letters was the obvious choice, and you hope that HYDRA wasn't the most imaginative with their traps as you started to map each number to its corresponding letter in the alphabet. It looked like this was the answer though, because a name was starting to take form: S - C - H - M - I - D - T. 

Johann Schmidt, the founder and first head of HYDRA back in the 40's, that was the code! You were lucky that you did your homework and read up on SHIELD's old case files, or you might not have put everything together. You quickly typed in the code, and watched that screen power down. 

"You think you're clever don't you?" the AI voice said. "I said I'd give you the location of your boyfriend, so here you go." A map popped up on the screen, with a red dot in the southern corner of the base. Once you figured out where you where, you made to take off to go get him when the AI spoke once more. "Aren't you forgetting something?" it said. "There's still one more piece of the puzzle. "If you don't deactivate the bomb, then you won't make it out alive. Sergeant Barnes will be fine for a few more moments, but you only have 15 minutes for the last piece of the puzzle." 

You thought about running right out of there and taking your chances with the bomb, but you played along. The last screen lit up with blue letters, bearing only the word "PRINT." Something else lit up on the control desk: a fingerprint scanner. Your mind was focused solely on saving Bucky that you just placed your index finger on the pad without considering the possible repercussions it could have. 

The computer lit up and then darkened, and then the AI (whose voice you had come to hate) spoke again. "Go." 

You raced out of the room and tried to remember where you saw Bucky was being held. After a few wrong turns, you found a rope ladder on the ground and grabbed it. Moments later, you were standing before an opening in the floor, and you could see Bucky sitting in the ground far below you. "Bucky!" 

"Y/N?" he was shocked as you threw down the rope ladder and started to help him out of the hole in the ground. "Is everything okay?" 

But before you could answer, another voice cut in. "You didn't really think that I deactivated the bomb, did you?" 

Bucky looked at you in confusion, but you didn't even bother to catch him up on the situation. Instead, you grabbed his hand and took off running, him right next to you. "5 minutes agents," the AI voice said, and you pushed as hard as you could to run faster. The Quinjet was within reach, and if the two of you could just make it there before the building blew up, then you had a chance of escaping. You tripped and stumbled, but that didn't stop you from running. 

With a stroke of luck, you and Bucky made it into the Quinjet in one piece. The bay doors had just closed when the sounds of an explosion shook the ground, and you were quickly lifted off the ground to escape the debris. Thankfully, the artificial intelligence that piloted this piece of machinery wasn't hell bent on taking you down.

You collapsed on one of the benches in the jet, both your mind and body completely spent from the ordeal. 

***

After you had gotten back to the compound, you took a long, hot shower and then immediately passed out on your bed. You were only woken up a few hours later by an incessant knocking at the door. "Go away," you mumbled, still half asleep. 

"No," Natasha's voice came through the door. "Either you open the door or I break it open." 

You heaved a sigh as you got out of bed and pulled the door open, shocked to see Natasha standing on the other side, a bag in her hand. "What are you doing here?" 

"I've been tasked with making you look presentable," she said. "Because you have a date." 

"Natasha-" 

"No ifs, ands, or buts about it," she said, cutting you off. "It's Valentines' Day, and that boyfriend of yours has some tricks up his sleeve." 

You knew that arguing was useless, so you allowed Natasha to do your hair and makeup, and even let her pick out an outfit from your closet for you to wear. When she had decided that you looked ready enough, she led you to a nearby elevator and pressed a button, then quickly stepped out before the doors closed so that you were left alone. 

When the doors opened again, you were standing on the roof of the compound. Bucky was standing in front of you, and you could see a table behind him, set for two. "Bucky," you said softly. "You didn't have to do this." 

"But I wanted to," he said. "Even though we didn't have exactly the best Valentines' Day this year, I still had to show my girl how special she is." 

Your eyes started to well, and you tried to push back the tears. "Thank you," you said, as Bucky walked over to you and took your hand, right as slow, melodic music started to play. 

"Dance with me?" he asked. You nodded as he started to lead. 

The two of you swayed together, wrapped in each others' arms, the troubles and worries of the mission long forgotten. 

_\- the end -_


End file.
